Jury indicts Mayo Group for Worcester asbestos removal

LYNN – A Boston-based real estate company with substantial property ownership in Lynn was indicted Friday for alleged removing and improperly disposing of asbestos from a 10-story building in downtown Worcester.A Worcester County grand jury returned the indictments against the Mayo Group Development LLC – a real estate investment, development and management firm – for violating the Clean Air Act . The company allegedly twice failed to file notices of asbestos removal with the state Department of Environmental Protection, twice failed to comply with procedures for asbestos emissions control, and improperly disposed of the substance known to cause health problems in humans.According to Jill Butterworth, deputy press secretary to state Attorney General Martha Coakley, the indictments stem from an investigation by DEP investigators and engineers, and the Massachusetts Environmental Crimes Strike Force (ECSF), an interagency unit that includes prosecutors from the attorney general’s office, along with state Environmental Police.Authorities allege the Mayo Group used its own employees to demolish parts of Worcester Commons, a 10-story building at 50 Franklin St. in Worcester, and failed to conduct a full asbestos survey of the structure and properly remove asbestos from the site before it began demolition or renovation work. The indictment also alleges that residents were living in the building while workers were demolishing structural elements that contained asbestos, a known carcinogen.Documents filed with the case indicate that in February 2007, DEP employees observed demolition debris being thrown out of a window at Worcester Commons. A subsequent inspection led to the discovery of impacted asbestos containing material within the building and in a waste pile and disposal trailer on the property’s premises. It was further alleged that asbestos from the site was scheduled for disposal at a landfill that was not a designated site for the disposal of asbestos waste, according to Butterworth.The DEP issued a cease-and-desist order the following spring and another inspection found asbestos in material on the second floor of the building. Authorities have allege that unauthorized asbestos removal continued in other parts of the building where residents continued to reside, posing a risk to both residents and the workers involved. The Mayo Group will be summonsed for arraignment in Worcester Superior Court, said Butterworth, noting that Assistant Attorney General Wendoly Ortiz Langlois is prosecuting the case.The Mayo Group is a member of the Lynn Area Chamber of Commerce and maintains a local office at 503 Washington St.